Sophie Ellis Bextor is the face of Freemans new campaign

The Murder on the Dancefloor singer and style icon fronts a new drive for Freemans-com, to be launched in a TV advert tonight.

Sophie models a range of styles in the new ad (Image: Freemans)

The 119-year-old retailer retired its famous catalogue in 2023 and transformed into a digital department store.

Its Autumn Winter range curates major international brands, complemented by exclusive in-house designed ranges from parent company Otto. Targeting the 40-plus female shopper, it's a ‘style ally’ to a consumer group which, from research carried out by the retailer, "still don’t feel communicated to in an authentic, informative and relatable way".

A 30-second film starring Sophie will premier tonight in the Coronation Street ad break on ITV and the new series opener of Channel 4’s Gogglebox, as well as YouTube and other digital channels. Shot on location in Stockport, Warrington and the Trafford Centre, the ad's soundtrack features Sophie's new single, Freedom of the Night.

The advert features Sophie's new single (Image: Freemans)

The campaign sees Sophie joined by the newly launched Freemans' Style Squad - a collection of stylist influencers offering tips and advice with Sophie from 'Get Ready with Me’ to 'Ask Me Anything', in response to customers' requests. The Style Squad - comprising @im_simply_irene, @rantsandbigpants, @clubforty.claire and @whiledollysleeps - has, as a collective, more than one million social media followers.

Sophie with the Style Squad (Image: Freemans)

Richard Cristofoli, Chief Customer Officer, Freemans said: “We are passionate about reclaiming Freemans' fashion positioning as our transformation journey continues at pace. As one of the UK’s most iconic brands, we can think of no-one better than one of the UK’s most iconic singers to lead the way with us as we continue to evolve. That's exactly what we have with this partnership with Sophie. Together with our Style Squad we're creating a content platform that responds to customer needs for more help and advice through the new season."

Says Sophie: “I'm delighted to be on board with Freemans. I remember it was one of the first places that I saw fashion everyone could access and started a passion that I hold today. Fashion for me should be fun, and I think that’s exactly what we show with the TV ad. 

"I love it and hope that you do too. Plus, you get a sneak preview of my new single Freedom of The Night. Exciting!”

In the ad, Sophie changes outfits five times as she appears from a Freemans lift, walks down a cobbled street, descends escalators and opens up a giant wardrobe, full of Freemans' products, ending in a party scene in a bar. Sophie is joined with models of different ages and sizes. The campaign will appear across online channels, social media, with Pinterest supporting the retailer and Tik Tok trialling video shopping ads.

* Today Freemans is based in Bradford and owned by the Otto Group.

Freemans & Co was established in 1905, in a terraced house in Clapham, London. The 200-page catalogue was originally black and white, with colour introduced in the 1920s.

Freemans dominated the mail order landscape in the 1930s, with 30,000 ‘agents’. By the 1950s Freemans was despatching more than 7,000 parcels a day. The Freemans catalogue enabled shoppers to spread the cost of a range of products, from furniture to lingerie.

In 1997 Freemans was one of the first retailers to launch a shopping website - Freemans.com. In the late 1990s Freemans was integrated with Bradford-based Grattan, using its head office on Ingleby Road and warehousing in Bradford and Peterborough.

In 2020 a new team overhauled Freemans.com, beginning the digital transformation.